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NWSL Challenge Cup overcame much to be first league back and make it about the soccer

“I'm just happy that we get to play and can feel safe doing it, during this time.”

Portland Thorns FC defender Katherine Reynolds was being asked about the NWSL Challenge Cup presented by P&G and Secret. She’s being asked about how strange it was, a tournament being waged during a global pandemic. She’s being asked about the NWSL being the United States’ first league with contact between players that navigated its way back to the field.

What she’s really being asked about is history. And legacy. As the tournament was announced in May, and then got underway in the suburbs around Salt Lake City, Utah, a narrative formed about being the first to go.